Providing clinicians with information on laboratory test costs leads to reduction in hospital expenditure.

OBJECTIVES We aimed to ascertain the efficacy of an intervention in which laboratory test costs were provided to clinicians as a pocket-sized brochure, in reducing laboratory test costs over a 4-month period. METHODS This was a non-randomised intervention study in the Internal Medicine wards at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, in which the intervention was laboratory test costs provided to clinicians as a pocket-sized brochure. The intervention period was the winter months of May - August 2008 and the pre-intervention period was the same months of the preceding year. In the two 4-month periods (2007 and 2008), the number of days in hospital and the laboratory tests ordered were computed for each patient admitted. For the intervention and control groups, pre- and post-intervention cost and days in hospital were estimated. RESULTS The mean cost per patient admitted in the intervention group decreased from R2 864.09 to R2 097.47 - a 27% reduction. The mean cost per day in the intervention group as a whole also decreased, from R442.90 to R284.14 - a 36% reduction. CONCLUSION Displaying the charges for diagnostic tests on the laboratory request form may significantly reduce both the number and cost of tests ordered, and by doing so bring about considerable in-hospital cost savings.